Monday, November 17, 2008

Reality Check

Tina Russo posted a great post on the Seekerville Blog titled Deadline Dementia for the Unpublished Author. If you haven't read it you should.

About halfway down the page she had a part that jumped off the page to me.

TIME PASSES WHETHER YOU FINISH A BOOK OR NOT

Okay, so she didn't cap it, but that's how I read it.

Here we are in the midst of NaNoWriMo. The goal---write 50,000 words in a month. For some that's a whole book, for others it's close. Regardless, it will put you much further toward your goal. Toward the end.

But here comes the reality check--TIME PASSES WHETHER YOU FINISH A BOOK OR NOT

Yes, it does.

So what's the solution? Keep writing. Remember every day you don't write is one that got away. Now don't go feeling guilty and all. That's not the point. There will be days, maybe days upon days where you just can't write. Schedules, life, another job. There are a lot of valid reasons not to be putting words down on the pages.

So when there is time to write, do we take advantage of it? Do we spend our time wisely? I'm pretty much talking to myself here and everyone reading this is seeing how a conversation goes between me and me.

I have let time foolishly go by more often than not. I have wasted precious writing time more often than not. I have not used my writing time wisely more often than not.

During this NaNoWriMo i have written more days than not. Check!My plot has taken amazing twists. Check!My enthusiasm for writing has increased. Check!My vision for my story is playing out on the page. Check!

So how has your reality been checked lately?

After you've commented on that, go on over to the Seekerville Blog. Our own Missy Tippens is posting today.

10 comments:

Lindi, I'm glad you shared this. It really spoke to me, too. I figured out a long time ago that I work better with deadlines--contest deadlines. My hubby once told me I do so when right before a contest is due that I should give myself deadlines and put them on the calendar all the time. In fact, he went to the calendar once and wrote me some deadlines up there! LOL And I did work harder to get that submission in because I knew it was on the calendar and that he would be checking with me to see if it got sent. :)

So even before the sale, give yourself deadlines! How about a deadline to finish the next chapter? Or a deadline for submitting to an agent or editor?

You know, it used to kill me to realize that in the time I finished a half a book, a friend on the Finish the Book loop would have finished 2 books! It always inspired me to keep pushing ahead.

Now, I have to finish a book and have it in by Feb. 13. Who else will say they'll finish a book with me before Valentine's Day?? :)

Things are going a little slower for me this month than usual. I'm not sure why--except I seem to need more sleep. I can't figure it out--and that need is definitely cutting into my writing time since I try to write when the hubby and daughter are otherwise occupied since I'm already working full-time someplace else each day.

Any words count. There was one morning I wrote 94 or something like that. But I added it to my chart. Hey, it all adds up.

Yesterday was a crazy day. I woke up late, no writing in the morning, bowled last night, had car trouble, and let's just say I got no words written. I can't worry about that today. I'm going to just pick up where I left off. And I'm not feeling guilty about yesterday. Life happens.

Well, whether or not I reach 50,000 words on nanowrimo, my goal is to finish my book. So far, I've definitely written much more. When I'm all done, I'm hoping to not only like what I've written, but love it. We'll see.